Return to Home Page

Header

Home > Newsletter Archive  > Current Newsletter

 

LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of June 1, 2008

The link to this electronic newsletter is being e-mailed to 5,500+

Jefferson County Democrats 

We hope you will forward the link to your own e-mail list.

***********************************

CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT LIST OF EVENTS

Updated on a regular basis

Bulletin Board:

 

The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at Democratic Headquarters,           
640 Barret Avenue .

 


 

Will tabulate for food, by Joe Gerth

 

It's kind of sad to see Sen. Mitch McConnell languishing with only $7.7 million in his re-election campaign account.

So in an effort to boost his coffers, he recently sent out his 2008 Kentucky Issues Survey, which asks questions about tax cuts, homeland security, health care and gay marriage.

As most of these kinds of surveys do, McConnell's ends with a pitch for money, asking for contributions ranging from $25 to $1,000. Fair enough.

Can't afford that? You can just check off this box: "You have my complete support! However, I cannot give a contribution at this time, but I have enclosed $13 to cover the costs of tabulating the results of my survey."

Thirteen smackeroos? To key in answers to 19 questions?

McConnell aide Billy Piper said those who don't send any money will have their vote tabulated. "Unlike Democratic primary voters, every vote is counted," he said.


 

 

Americans United for Change Slams Obstructionist-in-Chief Mitch McConnell for Voting Against 21st Century G.I. Bill for Troops Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan

 

Americans United for Change, a leading coalition partner in the Iraq Campaign 2008 seeking a responsible end to the war, blasted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for voting against meaningful legislation to establish and fund a 21st century G.I. Bill that ensures our fighting men and women returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan do not have to worry about paying for a quality, college education. With no help from the Senate's Obstructionist-in-Chief, the U.S. Senate today overwhelming passed by a 75-22 margin an amendment to an Iraq/Afghanistan/Domestic priories supplemental appropriations bill that restores full, four-year college scholarships and makes the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan part of an American economic recovery, just like the veterans of World War II were. The U.S. House passed a similar amendment last week, despite President Bush's veto threats.

 

"For all the lip service Senator McConnell pays back home to the sacrifices our troops are making overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, he sure has a funny way of showing his support in Washington," said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for Americans United for Change. "He stood with President Bush and tried to stand in the way of a 21st century G.I. Bill that reflects the needs of a struggling economy and skyrocketing tuition costs. That McConnell can vigorously support spending of $12 billion a month to continue this President's failed Iraq war policies but not a fraction that amount on these brave soldiers' education when they return home signals just how radically skewed his priorities really are. In fact, the first two years of the new GI bill would cost what we spend in two days in Iraq. Senator McConnell really ought to be embarrassed to face any Kentucky veteran today after voting like this. Despite all his empty rhetoric about supporting the troops, when faced with a simple choice of voting for 'em or against 'em - McConnell voted against 'em."

 


 

THE REAL JOHN McCAIN

 

A COMPREHENSIVE NEW GI BILL: The vote on the 21st Century GI Bill was 75-22. The legislation garnered wide bipartisan support, including Republican cosponsors Sens. Chuck Hagel (NE) and John Warner (VA). Under the bill, members of the military who have served on active duty since 9/11 are eligible to receive education benefits equaling the highest tuition rate of the most expensive in-state public college or university, along with a monthly stipend for housing determined by geographical area. It would also "create a program in which the government would provide a dollar-for-dollar match to contributions from private educational institutions with higher tuition rates than those covered under the bill." Despite claims by McCain and the White House, Webb's bill would help the military's enlistment rate. The new GI bill "is projected to cost about $2.5 billion per year," roughly the cost of U.S. operations in Iraq for one week.

DASHING HOPES AND DREAMS: McCain, however, opposes these generous benefits for troops' education. He instead signed onto a watered-down, Bush administration-approved version offered by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). This legislation would exclude many servicemembers by reserving the most generous benefits for soldiers who have served at least 12 years. It would also shortchange National Guard and Reserve members, offering them fewer benefits. McCain likes to say that as a former soldier, he understands what is best for veterans. But his version of the GI Bill was opposed by the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and the American Legion. More than eight in 10 members of the American public also support a comprehensive GI Bill. Kristofer Goldsmith, who served in Sadr City and was stop-lossed after returning home, testified to Congress on May 15 that he had attempted suicide and was discharged. Because he couldn't serve a second term, he had to forfeit his "one hope and dream" to go to college under the GI Bill. "And currently there is a Senator in Congress currently running for president, who is fighting to kill our Webb GI bill," said Goldsmith. "And I'm one of the soldiers who will never get that money."

FAILING GRADES: McCain's record on supporting veterans is one of the worst in Congress. IAVA has given him a grade of a "D" for voting against veterans' priorities so often between 2000 and 2006. A scorecard of roll call votes compiled by the Disabled American Veterans found that McCain has voted for veterans funding bills only 20 percent of the time. For example, in May 2006, he voted against an amendment providing $20 billion to the Department of Veteran Affairs's (VA) medical facilities. In April 2006, he was one of just 13 senators to vote against providing $430 million to the VA for outpatient care "and treatment for veterans." McCain has railed against comprehensive universal health care and wants to give veterans the "freedom to choose to carry their V.A. dollars to a provider that gives them the timely care at high quality and in the best location." But as New York Times columnist Paul Krugman notes, "[T]he Veterans Health Administration is one of the few clear American success stories in the struggle to contain health care costs. ... [I]t's an integrated system -- a system that takes long-term responsibility for its clients' health -- to deliver an impressive combination of high-quality care and low costs." McCain's plan, however, would "privatize and, in effect, dismantle the V.A." In his narrow-sighted focus on eliminating earmarks, McCain may also cut funding for military housing.

 


 

 

McCain and Bush Raise Big Bucks, Avoid Tough Questions by Seth Michaels

 

 

 

Sen. John McCain headed to his home state for a fundraiser yesterday, alongside a guest who he’s stood with for many years: President Bush.

 

McCain’s campaign treasury reaped the benefits of Bush’s taxpayer-funded trip to Phoenix, but McCain tried to avoid the appearance of running as a third term to the least popular U.S. president on record.

 

McCain was willing to appear alongside Bush for all of 47 seconds, even though he’s been willing to vote with him 100 percent of the time in 2008. Maybe he’s trying to prove he’s not the “McSame” as we’ve had the past seven years—but his voting record isn’t encouraging.

 

McCain changed the venue from the Phoenix Convention Center to the home of a wealthy donor, although it’s unclear whether this was because of low ticket sales or a strategy to avoid protestors and keep away the media.

 

The Arizona AFL-CIO and the Arizona chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans organized a rally outside the convention center to raise their concerns about McCain’s record on issues like health care, Social Security and trade. Maybe these tough questions were the reason McCain wanted to avoid the convention center. He’s made great efforts to avoid working families across the country, from Florida to Oregon.

 

So who is McCain listening to on these important issues?

 

Here’s one example. McCain is under scrutiny yet again for employing a lobbyist on his staff. Former Sen. Phil Gramm, a Texas Republican who’s a top economic adviser to the campaign, was lobbying for UBS, a Swiss bank. UBS has billions invested in the subprime mortgage market, and Gramm was lobbying for the firm while he was helping McCain craft economic policy.

 

That’s right—the candidate, who says he “never really understood” economics, is getting his advice from the mouthpiece for a bank with interests in the housing crisis. As blogger Hilzoy puts it:

 

…it just defies belief that McCain would have, as his main economic advisor and one of the people responsible for his plan to deal with the mortgage crisis, someone who was a paid lobbyist for a bank that was heavily involved in that crisis, a firm that has just advised some of its employees not to travel to the US for legal reasons, and that stands to gain or lose a lot depending on what the federal government decides to do about it.

 

McCain has been touring the country in his race for president, and wherever he goes, working people are there to ask him for answers on housing, health care and the economy. In just this week, AFL-CIO union members have gathered at McCain events in Savannah, Ga.; Chicago; Miami; Irvine, Calif.; and Atherton, Calif.

 

McCain needs to pay attention to these working families, not to his army of lobbyists. He needs to propose real solutions to the crises in health care, housing and jobs.

 


 

 

  Dear Ray:

 

I wanted to share some news about two great Kentucky Democrats.

During the last legislative session the obstructionist Kentucky Senate failed to follow the Governor's lead on ethics reform and didn't pass the unanimous, bipartisan, House bill. 

To remedy Senate President David Williams' latest attempt to put rank partisanship ahead of doing what's right, Governor Beshear, today issued an executive order which closed loopholes in current ethics policies. 

The Governor's order will make state government more open, and make more consistent the ethical behavior required both morally and legally of all state workers, including the Governor.

This is the type of leadership Kentuckians deserve; these are the types of solutions offered by Kentucky Democrats.

--*--

A poll released this morning shows that Democratic United States Senate Candidate Bruce Lunsford is leading Mitch McConnell by five points.  The poll, conducted May 22 reveals what Democrats throughout Kentucky already know, Mitch McConnell can and will be beaten this November.

Last week McConnell once again put his role as Bush's lapdog ahead of doing what's right when he cast a shameful vote against the bipartisan measure to provide educational benefits for veterans, on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend.

Please continue to work for all of our Democratic candidates as we move ahead to November.  Please tell your friends and neighbors just how important it is to elect a Democratic President, to send Bruce Lunsford to the US Senate, and to send Governor Beshear members of the General Assembly who will cast votes on principle rather than politics.

Sincerely,

 

Jennifer A. Moore
Chair, Kentucky Democratic
Party

P.S.  Help support the long campaign ahead.  You can make a one-time contribution or join our new PLEDGE TO WIN program, where you can make an automatic monthly contribution using your credit or debit card.

 

 
Paid for and authorized by the Kentucky Democratic Party
PO Box 694, Frankfort KY 40602 • (502) 695-4828 • www.kydemocrat.com

Contributions or gifts to the Kentucky Democratic Party are not tax deductible.


 



 

Comments:  

 

Experience Doesn’t Necessarily Translate into Greatness in the White House, By BERRY CRAIG

 

MAYFIELD, Ky. -- The nation was in crisis as a presidential election approached.

 

One party’s nominee was an Illinoisan with little Washington experience.

 

Some people said he didn’t have what it takes to be president, especially in difficult times.

 

But Abraham Lincoln went down in history as one of America’s greatest presidents.

 

Before he was elected, Lincoln’s Washington tenure was brief. The first Republican president had served just one term in the U.S. House, in 1847-1849. He lost a bid for the U.S. Senate in 1858.

 

Barack Obama hopes to be the next Democratic president. The senator from the Land of Lincoln has only been in office since 2005. Hence, the Republicans claim he is too much of a rookie to lead the country.

 

Would Obama be another Lincoln? Most Republicans would answer “no.” But the GOP apparently thinks he will be the Democratic nominee.

 

So the Republicans say he is a candidate way out of his league. Their guy, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, is the real pro in the race, they add.

 

McCain was elected to Congress in 1982, served two terms and got elected to the Senate in 1986. I saw one Republican on TV scoffing and measuring Obama’s senate time in days. A GOP TV ad says Obama lacks the requisite experience to be commander in chief. McCain recently said the Democrat shows “naiveté and inexperience and a lack of judgment.”

 

Not surprisingly, the Republicans tout McCain’s military record. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, he was a navy pilot and Vietnam war hero.

 

Obama is not a military veteran. Thus, the Republicans say McCain would be a better commander in chief for thousands of Americans who are in harm’s way in Iraq.

 

Meanwhile, stateside the economy is slumping. Iraq seems an endless drain of American blood and treasure. If the polls are right, most Americans believe the country is on the wrong track (in Iraq, too).

 

The Republicans say McCain’s many years in the military and in Washington make him the candidate to put the country on the right track. But does experience always count in running wars and governments?

 

Lincoln’s Civil War rival had much more military and political experience than he did. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was a West Pointer and Mexican-American War hero. Lincoln served briefly as a militia officer in the Black Hawk War, a minor conflict most Americans have never heard of.

 

Davis led men in many bloody battles. Lincoln didn’t fire a shot in anger.

 

In addition, Davis had been a congressman, U.S. senator and secretary of war. Lincoln’s opposition to the Mexican-American War was so unpopular in his district that he opted not to run again.

 

Yet as a commander in chief and as a head of state, Lincoln gets far better marks from most historians than Davis. Historians commonly characterize Davis as stubborn, vain and uninspiring. On the other hand, Lincoln grew in office. His strong, decisive hand put slavery on the road to extinction and guided the Union to victory in the Civil War.

 

Naturally, the Republicans will keep trying to play the experience card against Obama. But the Democrats can cite one of the GOP’s own as proof that candidates dismissed as lightweights on the campaign trail can become giants in the White House.

 



 

DAILY GRILL

 

MSNBC: Will Karl Rove agree to testify if Congress issues a subpoena to him as part of an investigation into the [Don] Siegelman case?.

 

LUSKIN: Sure. -- Karl Rove attorney Robert Luskin, 4/7/08

VERSUS

"Mr. Rove is not a free agent. ... The decision about when, where, and what a former assistant to the President may testify about raises issues of Executive Privilege and a separation of powers that Mr. Rove does not control." -- Luskin, 5/21/08, rejecting a House Judiciary Committee's subpoena

 

************************

 

"I've known this President a long time, and this President is someone I think the American people recognize as a straight shooter." -- Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, 7/1/04

VERSUS

"Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated 'political propaganda campaign' led by President Bush and aimed at 'manipulating sources of public opinion' and 'downplaying the major reason for going to war.'"  -- Washington Post, 5/28/08

 


 

Quotes of the Day   

  

None this week

 


TOP     

 

Recent Senate Votes 

 

 Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 - Vote Agreed to (75-22, 3 Not Voting)

With this vote, the Senate attached more than $10 billion in domestic spending to the $165 billion supplemental spending bill funding military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO
Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO

 

 

Overriding the Veto of the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (82-13, 1 Present, 4 Not Voting)

The Senate voted to override the President’s veto of the farm bill, but a clerical error will require the vote to be taken again.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES
Sen. Jim Bunning voted YES

  •  

  •  

    Recent House Votes 

     

     Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act - Vote Passed (324-84, 26 Not Voting)

    The House passed a measure authorizing the Justice Department to pursue energy antitrust and price-fixing cases against members of the OPEC oil cartel.

    Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

    Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

     

     

    Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act - Vote Passed (263-160, 12 Not Voting)

    The House passed this bill to extend temporary tax provisions that expired at the end of 2007.

    Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

    Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

     

     

    Overriding the Veto of the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act - Vote Passed (316-108, 11 Not Voting)

    The House voted to override the President’s veto of the farm bill, but a clerical error required that the House vote on the bill again.

    Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES

    Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

     

     

    To provide for the continuation of Department of Agriculture programs through FY2012 - Vote Passed (306-110, 19 Not Voting)

    The House voted to suspend the rules and again pass the farm bill, after a clerical error invalidated a previous vote, the President’s veto, and a veto override.

    Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES

    Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

     

     

    Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for FY2009 - Vote Passed (384-23, 27 Not Voting)

    The House authorized $600 billion in defense appropriations for fiscal year 2009.

    Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES

    Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

     

    TOP

    HUMOR    

     

    Jon Stewart, on the release of John McCain's medical records: "1,200 pages. And here's the amazing part: It only covered the last eight years. 150 pages a year. I am hoping that that is a font issue [on screen: pages shown with one word on each, in very large font]. What would a 1,200-page document be without totally unnecessary draconian parameters? First, the records were made available for three hours, and could not be taken out of the room. Second, no internet or cell phones were allowed. Third, if you left the room for anything but a bathroom break, you were not allowed to return. And fourth, well, I think that's entirely reasonable [on screen: rule #4: No Masturbating]. I think that, actually, that one was necessary. I'm looking at you, Brit Hume. So what did they find? [on screen: explanation of McCain's various maladies, including kidney stones and high blood pressure]. Yeah. Two small kidney stones. Fairly common malady. No big deal ... There's a montage coming, isn't there? [on screen: montage of different reports saying McCain has had various types of skin cancer and other issues]. Chin herpes. Dry heart. Swimmer's thumb. Inflammation of the rickets. Something called John McCain's Disease. Root fungus, which is apparently more common to trees. But still! That's what they found in three hours. Imagine if they'd had four. Well, I think with all this information we can make a diagnosis [on screen: reporters saying McCain is "fit as a fiddle" and is "in really good health." One reporter also asks whether 71 is the "new 30"]. I guess that makes dead the new 50."

     

    Jon Stewart: "By the way I mention one thing because John McCain is someone I know, someone I respect. I don't usually like to bring personal feelings and let them interfere with my fake journalistic feelings. But a dermatologist was quoted in a report as saying John McCain's, quote, '...buttocks are unremarkable, except for some very light tan freckling.' ... But I need to address this idea, this fallacy, this lie, that John McCain's ass is unremarkable. We have had him on our show over a dozen times. You watch the senator walk out to sit down, but when the interview is over, I have the distinct pleasure of watching this man leave. ... You want to know how remarkable John McCain's buttocks are? When he does the show, we don't even have a warm-up guy to get the audience going. McCain just goes out there and does his ... thing." (Watch video clip)


     


    TOP

     

           
    Bush's Former Mouthpiece Tells All

    In his "scathing" new memoir, which will be released next week, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan accuses his former colleagues in the Bush administration of not being "open and forthright on Iraq," arguing that they engaged in a "political propaganda campaign to sell the war to the American people." President Bush "signed off on a strategy for selling the war that was less than candid and honest," writes McClellan, "not employing out-and-out deception but by shading the truth." McClellan, who is "the first longtime Bush aide to put such harsh criticism between hard covers," also claims in his book that former Bush adviser Karl Rove and former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney Scooter Libby "allowed" and even "encouraged" him to "repeat a lie" about their involvement in the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. In one shocking revelation, McClellan "suggests that Libby and Rove secretly colluded to get their stories straight at a time when federal investigators were hot on the Plame case." The White House reacted with indignation yesterday, calling McClellan "disgruntled about his experience at the White House." Though current White House Press Secretary Dana Perino initially said Bush was not likely to comment on the book, she later told CNN that Bush "didn't recognize the same Scott McClellan that he hired and worked with for so many years." On background, White House aides were even more blunt, telling MSNBC's Kevin Corke that McClellan is a "traitor."  

     

    LOYAL BUSHIES STRIKE BACK: Bush was only one voice in a "chorus" of current and former Bush administration officials pushing back against McClellan's explosive allegations, often in very personal terms. "This now strikes me as self-serving, disingenuous and unprofessional," former Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend said on CNN. Rove, whom McClellan describes in the book as willing "to push the envelope to the limit of what's permissible ethically or legally," responded on Fox News by calling McClellan "irresponsible," adding that he "sounds like a left-wing blogger." Former White House Counselor Dan Bartlett called allegations in the book "total crap," saying that in hearing McClellan's criticisms, "it's almost like we're witnessing an out-of-body experience." McClellan's predecessor, Ari Fleischer, told NPR that he was "heartbroken" by the harsh tone of the book. Interviewing Fleischer for the CBS Evening News last night, Katie Couric noted that the former Bush administration officials now criticizing McClellan all sound like they "are operating out of the same playbook" by claiming "this doesn't sound like the Scott McClellan they knew."

    THE USUAL AUTOMATIC SMEAR RESPONSE: McClellan is experiencing the same automatic smear response the White House deploys against former allies who dare to criticize the administration, including former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and former head of faith-based initiatives John DiIulio. In 2004, when Bush's first Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said publicly that "the Bush administration began planning to use U.S. troops to invade Iraq within days" after Bush took office, White House aides pushed back hard with personal attacks. One senior official told CNN that "we didn't listen to [O'Neill's] wacky ideas when he was in the White House, why should we start listening to him now." Last year, Bush's former chief campaign strategist Matthew Dowd publicly broke with the President by claiming that Bush had "become more, in my view, secluded and bubbled in." Bartlett dismissed Dowd's criticisms by saying Dowd had been "going through a lot of personal turmoil." Ironically, before he published his own criticisms, McClellan was often the one responding to critical books as the White House's top spokesperson. In 2004, when former counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke wrote a book charging that President Bush had "ignored terrorism for months" before 9/11, McClellan led the White House counter-charge, claiming that Clarke was a bitter ex-employee who "wanted to be the deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department."

    MCCLELLAN'S CREDIBILITY CHALLENGE: As ABC News's Jake Tapper pointed out yesterday, "some of the same language now being used to trash McClellan he himself used to trash previous administration authors." For instance, when Clarke published his tell-all book, McClellan claimed he was doing it for money because "he has written a book and he certainly wants to go out there and promote that book." But McClellan's credibility challenge goes beyond the fact that he once attacked people in his current position. McClellan charges the White House with not being "open and forthright on Iraq," which is a drastic shift from his past rhetoric regarding the war. As a White House spokesperson, McClellan repeatedly defended the conduct of the war, justified the case that was made to launch it, and defended Bush's handling of the war. "There were irresponsible and unfounded accusations being made against the administration, suggesting that we had manipulated or misused that intelligence. That was flat-out false," said McClellan in a 2006 press briefing. "We've been very straightforward about where we are, in terms of the theater in Iraq," he claimed in another. In 2004, he insisted, "This President is someone I think the American people recognize as a straight shooter."


     


     

    Think Fast     

     

    This summer, the Bush administration plans to implement "new air quality rules that will make it easier to build power plants near national parks and wilderness areas, according to rank-and-file agency scientists and park managers who oppose the plan."

     

    As of Wednesday, conservative activist Grover Norquist is one of the few people who have been on both "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." Regarding his interview with Stephen Colbert, Norquist said it was "one of the most challenging interviews I've ever done because it's so unpredictable and he's so bright." "If any conservatives want to go on, I'd love to brief them," said Norquist. "It's less scary and more fun than you think it's going to be."

     

    The Senate passed a bill yesterday "prohibiting federal contractors from avoiding Social Security and Medicare taxes by hiring workers through offshore shell companies." Earlier this week, the House "also voted unanimously to ban the practice, used by former Halliburton subsidiary KBR" and others to avoid payroll taxes for thousands of American workers in Iraq.
     

    According to projections the Department of Energy issued yesterday, "crude oil prices would probably drop by an average of only 75 cents a barrel" if Congress were to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The report found that Artic refuge oil production "is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices."

     

    Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) is calling on Scott McClellan to testify under oath before the House Judiciary Committee about the "earth-shattering" allegations in his new book.

     

    Reacting to McClellan's book, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "I'm not going to comment on a book that I haven't read but I will say” the threat from Saddam Hussein "was well understood." She added, "I would really ask do people really believe that he was not a threat to the international community?"

     


    TOP  

    INTERESTING  

     

    THE TOXIC CORRUPTION OF OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM, Posted by Jim Hightower

     

    EnergySolutions Inc. That name has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? But whose energy problems is this company trying to solve?

     

    Italy’s, for one. That country has 20,000 tons of nuclear waste that it wants to dump somewhere, so this Salt Lake City corporation says that, for several million dollars, it will gladly import Italy’s waste and bury it in Western Utah. Great. Our country can’t figure out what to do with our own nuclear nasties, yet this corporate huskster would throw open our borders to everyone's trash. Send us your tired, your poor… your nuclear waste!

     

    Not wanting America to be turned into a global dumpster, some lawmakers are trying to ban the importation of radioactive foreign waste. EnergySolutions has responded by applying the handy, dandy solution used for wiping away all corporate problems in Washington: money. In the last four years, company executives and investors have upped their political giving tenfold, dumping nearly $400,000 into congressional campaign coffers. They’ve also ramped up the corporation’s spending on Washington lobbyists, topping a million bucks last year.

     

    When confronted with the obvious charge that they are trying to buy votes, Energy Solutions asserted that it is merely buying “access” to lawmakers. As a corporate spokesman explained, campaign cash “gives us the opportunity to participate with elected officials."

     

    This is Jim Hightower saying … In other words, “the opportunity to participate with elected officials” requires a major cash transaction – a corruption that shuts out ordinary citizens, perverts the public interest, and mocks our democracy. This is a bigger, more toxic problem than nuclear waste, and one solution is to take the corrupt money out of the system with public financing of congressional elections. Learn more at www.publiccampaign.org . 

     


     

    KEEPING UP WITH THE RICH,  Posted by Jim Hightower

     

    Time for another peek into the ‘Lifestyles of the Rich… and Cranky.”

     

    Few of us hoi polloi realize that it’s not easy being one of the hoity toity. Yes, they do have all that money, but there’s also constant pressure on them to live up to expectations. For example, let's talk bathtubs.

     

    To us carefree regular folks, the tub is … well, a place to take a bath. For the superwealthy, however, one’s bathtub has to make a statement. It's not a bathing receptacle, but art – an expression both of one’s inner self and external wealth.

    Let me ask you this: do you name your bathtub? Of course not, but the rich do. Take the “Papillon.” It is 1,800-pounds of stunning modernist sculpture, created from an enormous piece of white Carrara marble from Italy. The Papillon costs $23,000 – but really, my dears, if you’re going to be looking at price tags, you probably should be shopping at Sears.

    There’s also the Madera Ovales M4, which sounds as though it might be a rare Spanish wine, but it’s actually a hand-made tub created with various pricey woods, from walnut to teak. In truth, it looks very much like an oversized salad bowl – but, what’s a bathing center for if not to exude a certain insouciant playfulness? Who knows – maybe the rich bathe in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And if it’s playfulness you want, play with the M4’s $40,000 price range.

     

    But like I say, being really rich is not easy. It’s a challenge in extreme consumerism. If you want to try keeping up with the elite, let me suggest the “TGH Art Deco,” an elongated tub that’s completely covered on the outside in hand-tooled Hermès leather. It’s a $55,000 tub – but I’d advise against putting water in it, because that could stain the Hermès.

    The next time you think you’ve got problems, remember how tough it is for the rich.

     

    “If You Have to Ask, Try the Shower,” The New York Times, May 8, 2008

     


     

    Fox News Blames ‘Mainstream Media’ For Recession

     

    Yesterday on Fox and Friends, Dan Gainor, Vice President of the Business and Media Institute, along with conservative hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, concluded that America’s economic downturn was the result of the “mainstream media.” Doocy, Kilmeade and Gainor explained that news outlets like the New York Times and the three major television networks are talking themselves, and the American public, into recession. MORE

     


     

    Buy American Mention of the Week            

     

     

    None this week.

     

     


     

    GOOD NEWS

     

    The House overwhelmingly approved an amendment introduced by Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) that forbids "the Defense Department from engaging in 'a concerted effort to propagandize' the American people over the war." The move comes after revelations that the Pentagon sought to use military officials as media mouthpieces for the administration.

     


     

    VIDEOS  

     

    McCain Revealed: The Briefing Book

     

     

    TOP     

                    

     

     

    CLICK HERE FOR LATEST ISSUE OF THE "FRIDAY ALERT"

     

     


     

    NEED COMPUTER ASSISTANCE?? 

    Democrat Activist Mike Bailey is now providing “Professional Computer Support.”  He can be contacted at 502-558-4026, or mikebailey2000@usa.net

     


     
    SUPPORT YOUR LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY!!
    THE ELECTIONS IN 2008 WILL BE EXPENSIVE
    SEND CHECKS TO:
    LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY
    640 BARRET AVE
    LOUISVILLE , KY 40204

     


     

    Notice to our Readers &  2008 Primary Election Candidates:

    This newsletter will carry, in this space, any Democratic candidates' notice of events or communications (250 words or less) to our readers that the candidate provides to the editor at rcrider@insightbb.com

     


     

    TOP

     

    If you plan to change your e-mail address, please let me know at rcrider@louisvilledem.com

     

    Your contributions of news, comments and/or events are invited. Please e-mail such items to

    Ray Crider at rcrider@louisvilledem.com . If you know someone who would like to be on the newsletter e-mail list, please have him or her supply the following information to the same

    e-mail address: Name, address, phone numbers ( home , work, fax, cell), and e-mail address.  

     

     

     

    Publication of
    Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Party
    Tim Longmeyer, Chairman
    Ray Crider, Editor
    640 Barret Ave
    Louisville, Ky  40202
    502-582-1999
     
    Paid for by the
    Louisville/Jefferson Co Democratic Party
    Charlie Horton, Treasurer
    Produced & Printed In-House

    TOP

    Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

    Contributions or gifts to the Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Party

    are not tax deductible.